


Summer Wind

by Inner Voice (inner_v0ice)



Category: Kaze Hikaru
Genre: Embedded Audio, Embedded Images, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 19:51:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inner_v0ice/pseuds/Inner%20Voice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six views of a summer afternoon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Wind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cyphomandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyphomandra/gifts).



> Takes place around vol. 9, soon after Akesato reveals Sei's secret to Yamanami.

  


  


“Okita-sensei, look what I bought in town this morning!”  
Sei brought the windchime out from behind her back and dangled it in front of Okita-sensei. He grinned and waved his fan at it, sending a gust of air towards the little bell and making it tinkle as the strip of paper fluttered wildly.

Sei stretched up on her toes to fasten the windchime to the eaves, then sat down beside Okita-sensei. She dangled her feet over the edge of the porch, swinging them happily. Without warning, Okita-sensei flopped sideways to rest his head on her shoulder, and she blushed slightly and shoved at him.

"Okita-sensei! It's too hot! Get off me!"

"No, it's comfortable."

"Too hot!" She shoved him away again.

"Comfortable!" He wrapped his arms around her neck and planted his head firmly on her shoulder.

"Senseeei!"

\---

Yamanami Keisuke glanced out the open door of his room at the sound of an indignant voice. Kamiya-kun and Soji were sitting on the porch across the courtyard, and Soji seemed to be attempting to snuggle a protesting Kamiya. It was a familiar sort of scene—the two of them seemed to enjoy pestering each other and indulging each other by turns—and it was hard to believe the secret that Akesato had told him.

Kamiya-kun—no, _Osei-chan_ , that was her name—was a girl.

People had commented before on how much like a girl Kamiya looked, and at the time, Yamanami had agreed. But now, looking at him— _her_ —he thought to himself that Kamiya didn't look like a girl at all. He looked just the same as ever, the brave laughing boy who had somehow become an integral part of all their lives.

Yamanami closed his eyes and forced himself to think, _She's a girl, she's a girl, she's a girl._ He opened his eyes again and there she was, the girl Osei, in the tilt of Kamiya's head, the slenderness of Kamiya's shoulders, the blush on Kamiya's cheeks. He had suspected that love must be what made the girl stay, and now he was certain who the object of that love was. Osei was in love with Soji.

\---

Soji pouted playfully as Kamiya-san tried to push him away.

"Come on, just let me lean on you!"

"No!"

" _Please?_ "

Kamiya growled in annoyance, but Souji noticed that he didn't say "no" this time. He grinned to himself. Kamiya-san was _so much_ like Hijikata-san sometimes! No matter how gruff they pretended to be, if he applied the right combination of pouting and pleading eyes they could be talked into almost anything. He gave Kamiya his most heart-melting look, and he could _feel_ him soften just a bit more.

"Come on, Kamiya-san, it was comfortable!"

Kamiya heaved an aggrieved sigh and finally stopped trying to shove him away. "Oh, all _right._ "

Souji cheered and snuggled his head into Kamiya's shoulder. All was right with the world.

\---

Saito Hajime watched in frustration as Okita draped himself over a blushing Kamiya. The oblivious idiot didn't even realize what he was doing, did he? He acted like an affectionate lover, putting that hopelessly-in-love look in Kamiya's eyes, and then he went around being cheerfully oblivious to the idea of anything except friendship between them. Someone—he suspected Hijikata-san and Kondo-san—had clearly neglected to introduce Okita-san to the concept of "leading someone on". Hell, possibly they had neglected to introduce him to the concept of the birds and the bees, considering how utterly clueless he was about Kamiya's feelings.

And now Saito had to watch Okita draping his arms around Kamiya in public. How could they even stand being that close in this heat? It had been stiflingly hot all day, even in the shade. Okita, and Saito himself, had resorted to wearing their yukatas so loose they were practically bare-chested, and Okita had a fan that he was lethargically waving. Kamiya had his yukata pulled much tighter—it must be hot to have it so tight; Saito could see the sheen of sweat on his throat...

Kamiya's throat...

Wisps of hair clinging damply to his neck...

His eyes falling closed as his face flushed from the heat...

Saito snapped abruptly back to reality. He flushed from head to toe and strode off towards the well. At least in this heat, no one would think it was odd for him to be dousing himself with a bucket of cold water.

\---

Hijikata paused on his way down the hall when he spotted Soji and Kamiya on the porch of the opposite building. Soji was clearly being a spoiled brat again, because he had somehow gotten Kamiya to be a living, breathing head-rest for him, and it looked like he was well on his way to falling asleep right there. It seemed sometimes that Soji would never grow up, because right now he looked just like a tired child overcome by the heat. His eyes were closed and the hand waving a fan was gradually slowing down as he drowsed.

As if he were reading Hijikata's mind, Kamiya reached out and plucked the fan from Soji's grasp. He started waving it more vigorously, taking care to fan both himself and Soji. Soji smiled drowsily, his eyes still closed, and nestled his head more closely against Kamiya's shoulder. Kamiya looked down at him with soft, fond eyes and continued fanning the two of them. Hijikata huffed a soft laugh at Kamiya's ridiculous indulgence of Soji. At this rate, he would end up even more spoiled than he already was!

It was also easy to see why most of the men were convinced that Soji and Kamiya were lovers; anyone seeing them like this would think that was the obvious conclusion. The only reason Hijikata was sure that they weren't was because he knew Soji, had known him since he was a child, and he knew that Soji didn't _have_ lovers, ever. No matter how much anyone else might want him.

Hijikata sighed wryly, feeling a twinge of pity for the kid who was so clearly in love with Soji. Then he shook his head and continued down the hall, leaving Kamiya and Soji to their cuddling.

\---

Soda Masao was heading out on the town with some of the other guys; their troop had the afternoon off, and no matter how hot it was, an afternoon off wasn't something to be wasted. As they were walking to the gate, the men in front of him halted abruptly and started grinning and whispering something to each other. Soda craned his neck to see what they were looking at, and caught sight of Kamiya and Okita-sensei on the porch. He ignored the tiny burst of jealousy in his chest and smiled in amusement at the ridiculously adorable picture that the two lovers made. Even for Kamiya and Okita-sensei, the Shinsengumi's lovebirds, this was an unexpected display of affection. Kamiya was so absorbed in fanning Okita-sensei that he didn't even notice the rest of his troop-mates watching them and grinning.

Taking pity on the lovebirds, Soda decided that a distraction was in order before the others ruined the moment somehow. He grabbed two elbows at random and started dragging the men attached to them towards the gate, hoping the rest would follow their lead. Kamiya and Okita-sensei were so obviously, ridiculously in love; they deserved a little time to enjoy it.

  


**Author's Note:**

> The illustration is from the Kaze Hikaru _Hanagatari_ artbook.
> 
> The windchime or fuurin (風鈴) is a symbol of summer in Japan.  
> Linguistic side-note -- "fuu" is the _on_ reading of  風 (wind), while "kaze" is the _kun_ reading. [[on and kun readings](http://japanese.about.com/blqow43.htm)]
> 
> The pig-shaped thing beside Souji is a katori-buta, a mosquito-repellent burner, another symbol of summer. It may have been anachronistic (!!) of Watanabe-sensei to include it. She shows what appear to be plant stalks or twigs burning in it, instead of the modern spiral-shaped [katori-senkou](http://www.fukuyama.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/life5/senkou/contents.html) mosquito repellent. However, even the plant that is the origin of the katori-senkou (the Pyrethrum) was apparently brought to Japan [only in Meiji 18 (1885).](http://www.kincho.co.jp/kaisha/english/serbia/serbia.html)  
> (If anyone has any information on mosquito-repelling incense in Japan before 1885, please don't hesitate to share!)
> 
> Yamanami calls Sei "Osei" or "Osei-chan" because he's following Akesato's lead; she calls Sei "Osei-chan." "O" was a common [honorific prefix](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorific_speech_in_Japanese#Prefix_usage) for female names, as seen in the names of canon characters like Oume and Okiku.
> 
> Soji uses male pronouns when thinking of Sei because he is an idiot who tends to completely forget the fact that she's female.
> 
> Soda's surname is canon, the name "Masao" is not. However, it _is_ in the [top 5 names for Japanese men in 1915](http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa050601a.htm), which is the furthest back I could find data on short notice.


End file.
